The present invention is directed to a mechanical device and method useful for preventing hoses, cords and cables from becoming jammed under vehicle tires without impairing productivity nor leading to back strain.
The concept of having a device for preventing hoses, cables and the like from becoming jammed under vehicle tires during repairs or service has been disclosed in several U.S. Patents. In many applications involving work on a vehicle with tires, it is necessary for service personnel to pull a utility hose or cord from one side of the vehicle to another. There is a tendency for the hose to become wedged between the tire and the surface on which the tire is resting. This area has been referred to as the nip area (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,225 to Parnell).
For example, when servicing a vehicle, several different types of hoses such as lubrication or air hoses for pneumatic wrenches or electrical cables such as for electronic test equipment are pulled around the corners of the vehicle. During automobile painting, a similar rubber hose is pulled around the corners of the vehicle. Another common experience for the average automobile owner is pulling a water hose around the corners of the vehicle while washing the car. In all these instances, the hose easily becomes caught in the nip area between the rubber tread surface of the tire and the supporting surface such as the garage floor or driveway. Normally, once caught in the nip area, the hose cannot be pulled any further. It must be pulled back around the corner in the opposite direction until it can be freed. Having to walk back around the vehicle to free the hose from the nip can be very aggravating non-productive activity. To address this problem, Louwsma in U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,925 proposed filling the nip area between the tire and the working surface, using a device that has a wedge-shaped profile that can be placed in the nip area and that also has a vertical surface around which a painter""s air hose can run and has a means for xe2x80x9creceiving a fingerxe2x80x9d to manipulate the hose guide. In fact, this design is such that it has to be removed when servicing is complete. It cannot be driven over repeatedly without sustaining damage to the device, rendering it unusable. The device of the Louwsma invention has minimal contact area of the guide contacting the supporting surface and the tread surface of the tire. This could result in the device becoming dislodged when exposed to high stress such as when a high-pressure water hose is used.
The hose guide disclosed by Violette in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,432 (Jun. 6, 1989 Class 242/615) is also designed for use with an automotive vehicle paint spray apparatus and is comprised of a U-shaped body having legs that embrace the tire at the ground level and that has an upward turned concave surface across which the hose may run. This device as does Louwsma""s has a means to easily grasp it for adjustment and/or removal when finished. It is not designed to be driven over as a standard operating procedure. A further aspect of the Violette device is that any given device is limited in the range of tire widths with which it can be used. The Violette patent teaches that typically a device is used in front of both front tires and behind both rear tires.
The device of Parnell in U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,225 (Jan. 23, 1990 Class 188/32) for a xe2x80x9ccylindrical hose guide wheel chockxe2x80x9d discloses a wedge formed from a cylinder that is vertically placed under a tire. The function is two-fold, as a chock to prevent vehicle forward movement and to prevent a hose from becoming caught in the nip.
In none of the foregoing disclosures is there consideration of the disadvantage of personnel having to take extra time and effort to remove devices prior to moving the vehicle. It is the inventor""s contention that this oversight has contributed to the lack of ready acceptance in the trade and by the consumer.
The invention in this application overcomes this and other disadvantages of the previous inventions.
Often various hoses, cables or electrical cords are used by service personnel and individuals servicing or maintaining their own vehicles. These hoses, cables or cords often times become lodged in a nip area between tire tread and the supporting surface when they are pulled around the corners of vehicles and through the nip area. Freeing up the hoses causes wasted time and effort for the service person who needs to backtrack and free the captured hose or cable.
The present invention is directed to mechanical device and method useful for preventing hoses and cable from becoming jammed under vehicle tires. The device is inserted in the gap (nip) between the tire tread of a tire and the supporting surface.
The preferred device is generally wedge-shaped in such a fashion and dimensions so as to fill the space between ground and tread in such a manner that no crevices are formed that could entrap a nominally sized hose or cable.
Another object of the device is that it be shaped and textured so that it will not be readily dislodged by the movement of the hoses or cables. To accomplish this purpose, the hose guide may have top and bottom surfaces that have a series of ridges and grooves designed to engage the respective surfaces and lodge the device firmly in place.
Another object is to provide a hose guide that has the size, shape and structural integrity that will allow it to be repeatably driven over by a vehicle.
Another object is to provide a hose guide that has symmetrical top and bottom surfaces allowing the guide to be inserted into the gap (nip) with different orientations without effecting functionality.
The method for preventing the jamming of the hoses under a wheel is to drop a wedge shaped device under the wheel in question and to kick it into place. Likewise it can be kicked clear when finished and/or driven over and kicked out of the way until further use.
The preferred method is to insert devices under each of the tires. This does not significantly slow down the servicing since it is not necessary to remove the devices when finished. One merely drives over them.
Since the service personnel do not need to bend down to dislodge the wedge, possible back strain or injury is avoided.
Another objective is to provide a device that can be readily and economically manufactured.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when taken together with the accompanying drawings.